St. Padre Pio Said It All!

Dear readers:

When I first saw the poster, above, I was intrigued about its message and its history.  The message seems especially poignant in today's society,  a world filled with fear and anxiety about the recession, the H1N1 virus (Swine Flu), the attacks on life at all stages,  violence...the list could go on and on.

I decided to do a little research on it, and I found that over two million of these posters were made in 1939 in Great Britain, and were meant to be introduced as a calming influence if the Nazis ever invaded England in World War II. They were never posted because the English were able to hold them off, particularly during the Battle of Britain in 1940.  Of course, by 1942, America was involved and the Russians also kept Germany busy on the east, so the British Isles were preserved from an invasion.

Nobody knows who designed the poster, but it was discovered in 2000 in a secondhand bookshop.  It has become quite popular, bringing about a following of fans who wear the image on t-shirts,  carry it on bags, and drink with it on their coffee mugs.  It seems to stiffen resolve with people who are dealing with the many fears and anxieties of the modern world today.

The image really captured my attention.  Think of the important message it tried to convey in a very somber time in world history.

Of course, we should all keep calm during the trials of today, and carry on with our daily lives, putting one step in front of the other with resolve.  But I knew something was missing from the poster, something we should never forget to do during times of trouble:  pray.  So I designed the poster below, to remind us all that God will never leave us, and to always trust in Him.  The great St. Padre Pio said it all: